Severe Cognitive Problems

Posted By Nancy on May 13, 1998 at 00:08:47:







I want to thank you for this forum.  I do not have anyone I can turn
to for help as I'm not even sure if I'm asking the proper questions.
Antecedent Action:
My older brother who is now 48 years old originally had a cyst on the
pituitary gland in 1960. Steve came walking down the
stairs sideways and when my Mother asked why, he replied---because I
see two of you.  My folks immediately took him to Chanute Air Force
Base where he was put on a plane to Walter Reed Army Hospital in D.C.
He was operated on the next day--successfully.  This was at a time when
they lifted the scalp completely off the head and left terrible scars
starting at the right eye and continued back behind the right ear.
Then there were the two 2" scars down the back of his head. He has been
taking all kinds of medicine since then.  I do know that Cortef is
one of them.  A diagnosis of diabetes insipidus (sp?) was presented.
Present Time:
Unfortunately, About 3 years ago Steve did not tell anyone that
he started having the same type headaches he had when he was 10.  
He evidently had them for over a year.   So, of course, one day
his roommate found him on the floor of his bedroom.  
He was then taken by ambulance to the Kaiser facility
in Redwood City where they do that type surgery.  Unfortunately,
he did not come out of the surgery 100% this time.  The surgeon told me he had
had a stroke. Oops! I don't know, I cannot prove it.  I suspect it is true.
But Steve has no cognitive memory skills; no short term memory but certainly
can remember things that happened in 1950-1970 time period.  They then
had to go back in a second time and they put a shunt in to take
care of a "small problem" .
He then had six weeks of radiation with four days being 15-20 minutes
and the fifth day 45 minutes.  He can not have any type of radiation
ever again per the doctor's orders.
The doctors also told me if it comes back again, they will "make him
comfortable".  He is on several medicines, still on cortef.
Now that you've read the novel above, my questions are:
1.  Is this tumor the type to come back again, since there was
a 35 year gap in occurences? But, he had two in a short time.
2.  I know he will never get any of his memory back, but will what
he has errode faster as he gets older (does that make sense?)?
3.  Some of the medicine he is on are considered steriods.  Now,
I have been led to believe that continued use of this stuff is
harmful and can lead to death.   Is that the case with prescribed
medicine? Is this a lose-lose situation;  he keeps taking it,
he dies or if he stops taking it he dies?  
The other thing is that he suffers from sleep apnea.  He had to have
a breathing machine for a while after they did the sleep test and
found that he had over 300 occurances per night.  The doctor went
crazy and thought the test was wrong.  They did it again; same results.
So, he had a breathing machine and mister for night time.  Then,
his roommates found him on his floor once again (seems to be his
favorite place) and got him to the hospital just in time for an
emergency treacheotomy.  Ended up with the treacheostomy tube for
the past year.  They did surgery in September for a T&A and then
moved the hyoid (sp?) bone forward and zapped the uvula (again sp?).
Now, he just this past week had the treach tube taken out and
the hole is supposed to be closing and he will only have a small
scar.  
I realize this ended up being very long and narrative but what
will the future hold for him (and me since I'm his primary care
giver).  Besides, you don't even want to get into my
neurological medical problems!
Thank you again.